While Tai is serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, all of his emails and photos will be posted here so that others can see the work that is being done, learn a little bit more about his faith and share in this time of growth.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Atonement

Down with the sickness.

This past week was full of interesting events! So Monday wasawesome because, well, P-day. On Wednesday Elder Hannesson and Itraveled out of the mission, which was a little strange. We went fromour area in Skokie all the way to Naperville, where we ran into abunch of missionaries from the Chicago West mission! That was cool.Then on Thursday we had priesthood conference. It was by far one ofthe most spiritual experiences to be had since I have been out here.In the past there had apparently been a history of chastisementassociated with priesthood conference. For those who are unaware ofwhat a priesthood conference is, it's a meeting where two zones, orstakes, worth of missionaries meet and receive counsel and guidance.In total there were approximately 50-51 missionaries- all elders. Ourmission President, President Woodbury, mentioned to us that as Elders,sometimes we need a little chastening. It keeps us grounded, and atthe 'ever so wise' age of 18 years, we'll take all the help we canget. After priesthood conference we had a lesson with a couple who wasstruggling with smoking and drinking. During the lesson we were tryingto get to the bottom of their (they're names are Mikey and Lorettabtw) addictions, more specifically Loretta. She has been strugglingwith smoking for a while, and was able to quit a few years ago. Thenlast year on Halloween her son was shot and killed. She opened up tous about how deeply that scar runs, and how the loss of her soncombined with other circumstantial issues just turned into adiscombobulated jumble of negative emotions. Smoking and drinkingturned into her escape, and now she seeks forgiveness. We brought anaddiction recovery booklet, a 12 step program that helps peopleovercome addictions, and we are going to help Loretta on her road torecovery. I am super pumped! The atonement is like, the coolest thingever. I am so grateful that I have it in my life. I am grateful thatin the Garden of Gethsemane there was a time where Christ suffered forme. He knows me personally, and he knows you personally as well.

The atonement actually was on my mind quite a bit because fromFriday through Sunday I was really sick. I was running a fever Fridaymorning, but being the stubborn child that I am, I simply pounded someAdvil and went to work. Boy did I regret that decision. Friday morningwe had some service scheduled that involved digging 7 fence posts outof the ground. All of them were cemented into the ground, and 3 ofthem were reinforced with metal supports and an extra layer ofconcrete. Our job was to remove the posts as well as the concreteholding them in place. The tools we had at our disposal were 3crowbars, a sledgehammer, and a chisel. Normally an opportunity likethis would have been the highlight of my week, except I felt likegarbage. By the end of the project I was miserable. The medicine I hadtaken that morning had worn off , and I felt like I was going to die.Elder Hannesson was aware of my state of discomfort, and proceeded todrive us home. I immediately went to bed, and over the next 24 hourstime seemed to pass slower than ever. I was able to find no comfort,no matter how I positioned myself in bed. I ached more than I can everremember. Fortunately I'm now feeling better. Thank you for yourprayers, love you lots!

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Elder Phipps

Mail Time!!!

Tai would love to be sent mail of any kind!

email: faafetai.phipps@myldsmail.net

Address:

Illinois, Chicago Mission

800 Waukegan Road, Ste. 203

Glenview, Il. 60025

It's best to write missionaries with questions and a little bit of what's going on back home so they don't get too homesick. Ask about his mission, who they are teaching, what the day is like, what he's reading, how is his faith growing...